Night after night Wolfkit trained with Hawktalon in the Dark Forest. Every now and then, Tigerfang would watch. The tabby would give suggestions and compliments, or just tell him what he was doing wrong when he messed up.

It was the day that Wolfkit turned six moons old. All of the cats had just gathered beneath the highledge, when Brightstar had called a clan meeting.

"As some of you know, one of our kits has turned six moons old." She announced. "And all kits become apprentices when they're six moons old."

The cats just gazed up at her, a few rolling their eyes because they already knew most of the information.

"Wolfkit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed." She meowed. Wolfkit stepped forward. "From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Wolfpaw. Your mentor will be Brackenpelt. I hope Brackenpelt will pass down all he knows on to you."

The golden pelt of Brackenpelt moved up and touched noses with Wolfpaw.

"Wolfpaw! Wolfpaw!" The clan shouted.

Wolfpaw raised his head high with pride.

The other cats came forward to greet him and congratulate him. Once he got out of the crowd, he made his way to his mentor. "Are we training today?"

"No, but there's time to show you the territory." Brackenpelt meowed.

"Okay." Wolfpaw mewed in reply.

"Alright, let's go." The golden warrior decided. "Follow me, okay?"

Wolfpaw nodded.

They went through the thorn barrier and headed in the direction where he and Stonepool had picked berries. They reached a stone wall.

"This is an abandoned Twoleg nest." Brackenpelt explained. "Come on, let's show you the inside."

They padded around to another wall and hopped up a tail-length. They were looking into a dark Twoleg nest. There wasn't anything to see. It was pretty much one giant stone den. The walls were old and crumbly and there were holes in the roof, making patches of sunlight on the floor.

Weird items were scattered about the nest. They padded across the wooden floors.

"It's a good hunting site, for mice anyway." The golden warrior meowed.

"Looks like it." Wolfpaw commented.

"Trust me, it is." Brackenpelt told him. "We can start hunting practice in here tomorrow if you'd like."

"Sure." Wolfpaw mewed eagerly.

They left the Twoleg nest and walked onto a high cliff that hung over a lake.

"Over there," Brackenpelt flicker his tail to the left. "Is Littleclan. They're fierce fighters and not too friendly."

Wolfpaw sniffed the air in that direction, catching a disgusting whiff of something. "Yuck."

Brackenpelt snorted in amusement and continued. "To the right is Pondclan. They eat mostly fish and their camp is on an island in the middle of a pond. They're great swimmers."

"Cats swimming?" Wolfpaw was confused.

"Yep." Brackenpelt confirmed. "Those cats like the water."

"Wow."

"And, straight ahead, that's Heartclan. They care for all of the other clans and they're great fighters too." The golden warrior continued.

Brackenpelt breathed in the scents of the other two clans. "And we're Stealthclan, right? Good at hiding and sneaking around enemies."

Brackenpelt nodded. "We are."

They walked down to the lake. The water rippled against the slight breeze. The sand near it was moist and almost muddy. Wolfpaw poked the water with his paw. It was cold. He jerked his paw away. "Pondclan swims in this?" He asked.

"No, not the lake." His mentor meowed. "They swim in ponds and streams inside their territory."

"Oh."

"But they do catch fish from here though." Brackenpelt added.

The sky was an orange color. They looked across the water, seeing the sun setting below mountains farther away.

"What's beyond the mountains?" He asked curiously.

"No cat knows." Brackenpelt admitted. "No one had ever been that far."

"Is tonight full-moon?" He asked.

"It is." His mentor nodded. "We better get back to camp because Brightstar has invited us along."

The two cats raced back across the territory, towards the camp. They arrived just as the Gathering patrol started to leave. They joined them and padded along, separating towards their friends.

"Hey, Wolfpaw!" A familiar meow sounded from behind him.

He whirled around. "Hey, Whitepaw."

The two cats padded side by side.

"How'd the tour go?" His friend asked.

"Pretty good." Wolfpaw boasted. "Brackenpelt told me everything. We're hunting inside of the Twoleg nest tomorrow."

"Lucky you." Whitepaw mewed. "Blackpelt is having me do more battle training."

"I'm not the lucky one, you are." Wolfpaw meowed. "I want to battle train."

Whitepaw snorted. "Trust me, you don't want to."

But I do it every night! He wanted to scream at his friend. "Whatever." He meowed, walking away and continuing on his own.

"Want to know something?" Blackclaw's meow came.

"Yeah, of course." Wolfpaw meowed in reply.

"There were other clans here before us." The elder meowed distantly. "There was Thunderclan, Shadowclan, Windclan, and Riverclan. We aren't that different than they were, you know."

Wolfpaw's jaw dropped. There had been other clans?

"They worshipped Starclan too. That's where they all are now." Blackclaw continued. "Killed each other in battle, destroyed their own clans. All of them died. Any survivors would be long gone now."

"Whose territory are we on?" He asked.

"This was Thunderclan's territory." Blackclaw responded. "Pondclan is where Windclan was, Littleclan for Shadowclan, and Heartclan around Riverclan. That was so long ago though. Much of the area has changed. NO more ponds in Heartclan territory, they seemed to have moved to where Pondclan is. All of the four clans today settled where their abilities work best."

"So, we're their replacements?" Wolfpaw mused. "We are the next generation of Clans and we have to learn from their mistakes to survive?"

"Something like that." The older cat meowed. "Ah, here we are."

They had reached a tree bridge. There were scents from all of the clans there already.

"They're all here." He meowed to the black tom.

"Yes, they are." He nodded.

When it was Wolfpaw's turn, he scrambled onto the tree. The wood was somehow slippery, though it wasn't wet. He unsheathed his claws and climbed across, without falling off.

Once the whole clan was across, they raced into the clearing. There were cats from all different clans talking and having fun together. Not knowing who to sit next to, Wolfkit joined a group of apprentices.

"Who are you?" One of them asked him. He had a black pelt. "I am Crowpaw."

"Wolfpaw." He responded. He dipped his head. "Nice to meet you."

Crowpaw dipped his head too. "Same to you, my new friend."

He glanced at the large oak tree. He saw three cats perched in between the branches. He noticed Brightstar at the base, preparing to leap into the tree. She jumped up and shifted into a comfortable position. After a few heartbeats, a call sounded from one of the leaders.

"Let the Gathering begin!"